Island Book one: Shipwreck: Introducing Melissa
by bsc9999
Summary: What would the trip on the Phoenix be like if, maybe, there were another girl? What would she think of the ship and being shipwrecked on the island? What would her crew mates think of her? I know it sounds lame, but just read it!
1. Introducing Melissa Braque

**Island Book one: Shipwreck: Introducing Melissa **

**Author's note: I'm a complete first-timer at this—so no flames, please! I'm still really young—if I told you my age, you probably wouldn't think I would even **_**consider **_**submitting a story with all the other good ones I've seen. So yeah. Constructive criticism is accepted—after all, it helps me with my stories, doesn't it? So this story is on what would happen if there were another girl on the trip in the **_**Island**_** trilogy by Gordon Korman. I might use a few lines from the books. This starts after JJ gets on the **_**Phoenix, **_**but they won't leave yet in my fanfic. This isn't a self-insert. Hope you like! **

Chapter one: Introducing…Melissa 

12-year-old Melissa Braque stepped out of the plane, into the noise of the airport. Was it just her, or was that lady wearing purple eye shadow, purple lipstick, _and _purple blush? The lady looked like a plum!

Not that Melissa was one to judge. She had gotten sent on the stupid trip because…well, simply, because she was emo. At least, that's what her schoolmates called it.

No one would talk to her. She had no friends. She was completely depressed. She was in Charting a New Course because she had cursed Dr. Phil on national television. She broke her father's favorite antique record player and her mother's blue stained glass Tiffany lamp. Above all, her tools to deal with grief were a razor and a locked door.

But all that had changed when her parents had found her, lying on her bed, a pool of blood surrounding her. After that, she had blacked out.

The next thing she knew, she was in the hospital on antipsychotic meds. Apparently they thought she was psychotic.

Well, now Melissa was going to be on this boat, with a bunch of other kids with messed-up heads.

A man came up to her just then, clutching a picture of her in his hand.

"You the kid going to CNC?" He asked.

Melissa nodded.

"Well, then, come on! I don't have all day! Let's get moving, Veronica!"

Veronica? Melissa's name wasn't Veronica.

"My name is Melissa, not Veronica." The girl said sharply. But it was a waste of breath. The man didn't even seem to notice.

"I'm Mr. Radford," The man said. "I'm the boat's first mate."

Mr. Rat-Face, Melissa thought. That's was a good name for him. But she was silent.

"Taxi!" The man called.

As Melissa put her bag in the trunk of the yellow taxi and climbed into the car, she thought, _Please, get me out of this. _

The taxi drove away from the airport and toward the port. Towards Melissa's new life.

**Like it so far? Please review! **


	2. Meeting the crew

Chapter two: Meeting the crew

"Hi, I'm Melissa. I'm twelve years old." Melissa's voice was clear and firm. Yes, she was scared. She just wasn't one to show it.

"Hey," the brown-haired boy said. "I'm Luke, and I'm thirteen. Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Melissa said.

That was the last person to greet. The rest of the people seemed nice enough, except for JJ, the movie star's son. That blonde fourteen-year-old was far too cocky.

The rest were okay. The siblings, Will and Lyssa, thirteen and twelve, seemed nice enough, even though she had heard that there was more violence in their fights than in James Bond movies.

The other girl, Charla, twelve years old, seemed all right, too. Her body was formed for efficiency rather than show. Melissa could tell she was an athlete.

The little boy, Ian, was eleven, but you would think he was nine. He was very small and thin. He seemed nice, even though he didn't say anything at all.

The last, Luke, seemed okay.

They had to work on the ship. Melissa's back strained as tried to push the schooner away from its mooring. Her spine felt like it was about to snap.

"Heave!" Bellowed Mr. Radford. "Put some back into it!"

Melissa watched as J.J. complained sourly. _Dumb kid, _she thought. _Has no discipline. He was spoiled his whole life. _

It was true. JJ had been served all his life, never done any work.

"Come on, Archie! Be a man!" Mr. Radford bellowed back at JJ.

_Archie, _Melissa thought. _His name isn't Archie. Oh, wait, I get it. Archie and Veronica. Mr. Radford gets his names from fine literature—comic books. Duh. _

"Work, Betty!"

There he went again. One more name.

Finally, the ship made its way into sea.

"Finally!" Melissa shouted.

"We're not done, yet, Veronica! We need to hoist the sails! Haul!" Bellowed the captain.

Melissa, Will, and Charla had the mainsail. They yanked away at the halyard, hand over hand. Luke and Ian had the foresail. Their faces were taut with concentration. JJ and Lyssa had the smaller staysail.

When Melissa heard the orders, she was enraged. JJ had the smaller, easier sail. Didn't the boy need some discipline?

"I should have been an only child."

What? What was that? Who said that?

Melissa looked around, and saw Charla looking at Will like he was crazy.

Will said it? Why? Maybe he was mad that Lyssa had gotten the easiest sail? It made sense, Melissa remembered. They were fighting. Even now, Melissa could sense there was tension.

When the wind caught the half-open mainsail, its force pulled the halyard right out of his hands, giving him a rope burn. Charla and Melissa held on, but with the sail taut, the line was hard to move. Will grabbed on to the rope again, and the three leaned onto the halyard with all of their might. The sail went up, flapping against the wind.

"You'll earn your dinner tonight!" Radford roared. He had gone to help Luke and Ian. Soon, the foresail was up.

Last came the jibs, two smaller sails. The crew fell back, exhausted. Melissa felt like she was dying. The kids' hands were bleeding and blistered.

Radford kept talking about pulleys and ropes. As he untied a knot, he turned to say something to Luke.

"Hey, Archie—"

Luke looked at Radford and began, "Yeah?"

Just then, a pulley came down and hit Luke full in the face, making him fall over.

"I was going to warn you, but never mind," Radford said, laughing. The man was cruel.

When the foresail was up and aligned, the captain, Captain Cascadden, cut the power and let the schooner run with the wind and waves.

"Now you're sailing!" rumbled the captain behind the wheel. "There's no feeling quite like it!"

Lyssa jumped up onto the engine housing, threw her arms wide, and let her long hair whip in the wind. "Feel that breeze!" she shouted.

_The stupid girl will get herself killed, _Melissa thought. _Should I warn her…? _

Charla turned towards Lyssa and said, "Where I come from, a wind like this would knock you right off the fire escape!"

_At least someone has brains, _Melissa thought.

A little bit later, Melissa found Luke and Will standing in the main cabin. Luke was holding a cold towel to his rapidly swelling eye.

"You guys are my witnesses!" Luke seethed. "You saw that lousy Rat-Face! He did it on purpose!"

Melissa saw Will smile, which he hadn't done yet before that day. "Rat-Face Radford. Why didn't I think of that? That's funny!"

"No, it isn't," Luke raged. It's the least funny thing on a very unfunny trip!"

"Hey!" Melissa shouted. "Hey! You guys! Two things: One, Luke, get over it! Yes, I know he did it on purpose. Now act like a big kid and _get over it_! Two, Will, you didn't think of it because _I did_! So you"—here Melissa turned to Luke—"don't be taking credit for it. Understand? Good, because I am out!" Melissa stalked out of the main cabin. So far, the trip was horribly bad.

Will and Luke sighed and followed her back on deck. Will realized with some comfort that he wasn't the only one miserable on deck.

Melissa was looking at Lyssa. _Captain's pet, _she thought. The girl was standing with the captain, hanging on to his every word. It could only be one thing: Trying to become the captain's favorite kid.

But, halfway down the engine hatch, as Melissa (and Will) watched with delight, a strange look passed over Lyssa's face. With a strangled sound, she scrambled to the side, draped herself over the lifeline, and was thoroughly, violently, sick.

Maybe the trip wouldn't be _so _bad.


	3. And that's why we all love JJ

**Author's note: Thank you for your kind review, HeadWayUpInDaClouds. Myself, I still don't know what I'm going to do with this fanfic! Anyways, this is chapter is dedicated to my ten-year-old brother, LinhDang, who forced me to make this account. So, LinhDang, if you're reading this: I love you! **

Chapter three: And that's why we all love JJ 

The skinny blonde-haired girl hit the water first, a cannonball that got even Melissa, who was standing at the cockpit next to the captain, wet.

"It's _warm_!" Lyssa shrieked, excited.

Will was in next, climbing carefully down the boat's swim ladder, placing a foot in tentatively then dropping in next to his sister.

"It _is _warm!" the husky boy said gleefully. "It's great!"

Melissa saw Luke get in and paddle around happily. "Hey, Melissa," he shouted up at her. "You coming in?"

Melissa stayed put, watching the captain work at the cockpit. Melissa had been scared of water since an incident that had happened when she was a small child.

Melissa noticed the small eleven-year-old boy standing behind her. "Hey, Ian," Melissa said, gently, "Aren't you going into the water?"

"Yeah!" Will shouted from in the water, paddling around. "Just come get your feet wet!"

The younger boy averted his eyes. "I don't think so."

"Come on!" Lyssa said, cheerily and invitingly. "You'll love it!" she promised.

But the small boy had disappeared down the companionway to the sleeping quarters.

Luke shook his head. "Poor kid. He forgot to download his personality before they made him ship his computer home."

"Shut up," Melissa snapped. Strangely, she could relate with the small boy. Alone, with no one to talk to. Just giving up at ever again being happy. She knew.

"I wonder why he got sent here," Lyssa thought aloud, ignoring the searing glare Melissa was giving her.

"He probably wouldn't mind his own business, just like you," snickered Will.

Yeah, Lyssa.Melissa thought. Mind your own business.

"Shut up," Lyssa shot at Will.

Melissa looked over at Charla. The girl was poised gracefully on the gunwale. Perched only on the tip of her toes, she sailed off the side in a perfect jackknife, cutting through the water like a knife, with barely a tiny splash.

Everyone broke into applause except for Melissa. Even Captain Cascadden cheered a little.

Charla broke the surface and took a few smooth powerful strokes while Melissa watched everyone on deck. They had all seemed to have forgotten about Melissa, she noted sourly. Nobody noticed Melissa. She was always the third wheel, standing there, forgotten, ignored.

As the others talked excitedly about Charla, Melissa turned away.

But, just a few moments later, a voice from above Melissa yelled, "Aloha!"

A voice from _above_.

Everyone looked up. There, high up in the mainsail rigging, was JJ.

"Crewman—get down from there _this instant_!" Captain Cascadden shouted.

JJ waved. "Sorry, Captain! Can't hear you!"

That brat! Melissa thought. He would get himself killed.

Surprisingly, even to herself, Melissa found herself worried about her spoiled crewmate.

"Mr. Radford!" the captain roared. "I need you on deck!"

The mate was asleep in his berth after taking the last night's watch. But the captain's strident tone of voice brought him up the companionway in a matter of seconds.

"Don't even think about it, Archie!" he barked up at JJ, furiously.

Too late, Melissa thought. Now JJ was going to die.

With a shout of "_Geronimo_!" JJ grabbed onto a loose rope and swung himself off the mainmast, clear past the deck and out over the open sea. There he let go and dropped like a stone into the water.

It seemed like forever until JJ surfaced, and Melissa breathed out, noticing, surprised, that she had been holding her breath. JJ howled in triumph, and Melissa even smiled a little, along with the other swimmers. But the moment of rare happiness was short-lived.

Cursing with rage, Mr. Radford took a running leap off the side of the boat and hit the water swimming, hitting a particularly nasty word. He was a crude swimmer, Melissa noticed, but she had never ever seen anyone move so fast, even on land running. He scooped JJ up Red Cross style, towed him back to the swim ladder, and hauled him, still protesting, on board.

That spoiled, stupid, jerk! Melissa thought. He's not even grateful that he's alive!

"You miserable little muckworm, do you know what _mutiny _is?"

JJ blinked innocently. "Wasn't that a classic movie from way back when you were—you know, still old?"

Oooh, Melissa thought. He's gonna get it now. The jerk.

Now Radford was screaming, "Listen, Richie Rich! When we left Guam, we left the United States! In international waters, the captain is God! And I'm assistant God! When we say come down, down is where you come!"

Melissa thought she had never heard anything more ridiculous in her life.

Radford turned his fury on the three kids in the water. "Okay, swimming's over! You've got your friend Richie Rich to thank for that!"

Melissa watched with Charla in sympathy as Luke, Will, and Lyssa scrambled nervously up the swim ladder.

Captain Cascadden was a nice man, Melissa reflected, and he seemed to care about the kids. But he didn't seem to notice that his mate was more than just a gruff sailor. Radford didn't like people, especially kids. And his bullying seemed to increase the farther they got from land.

Melissa sighed, scared, lonely, and frustrated. Frustrated with the world for being so cruel, frustrated at her parents for making her get on this boat, and frustrated at JJ for…for making her feel so weird.

And they were going a lot farther than this.


	4. Why is Ian here, anyway?

**Author's note: Again, thank you HeadWayUpInDaClouds for your review. Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to my Battle of the Books team 07-08: John, Ryan, and Jason. As the only girl on the team, I feel obligated to say your names. So here's the next chapter in my story. Read, enjoy, and REVIEW, PLEASE! **

Chapter four: Why is Ian here, anyway? 

Melissa never liked being on ships, and she especially didn't like to be on this particular ship. In her whole life, she'd never been so busy. The sails always needed raising, lowering, trimming, letting in, letting out—somehow, they were never in the right position or state.

When the crew wasn't fussing over the boat, they were doing educational stuff. Science, mostly. Whale watching, plankton tows, identifying schools of fish. They did math with wave heights and water temperatures and indexed it to their location, which they got from the handheld GPS.

Everything was supposed to go into their logbooks, but Melissa could never find anything to write about. She was sitting on deck with Luke, both of them talking about and trying to describe a fish they had seen ten hours ago when a shadow fell across their flash-lit pages.

Captain Cascadden was unfolding his six-foot frame out of the companionway. "Evening, crewmen," he said, even though, clearly, Melissa was not male. He noticed the logbook in the two kids' hands. "Ah, keeping a log is one of the great pleasures of life at sea. As the years go by, you two will read these notebooks over many times."

Right. Like Melissa wanted to relive this stupid trip any more than she wanted to remember her times in the hospital and all the grief leading to it. But she bit her tongue and said nothing, realizing that Luke was doing the same. Captain Cascadden could sometimes be quite boring, but at least he was kind, and you could tell he cared about the kids. Not like Rat-Face Radford.

"Here's something that would make a fascinating entry," Captain Cascadden rambled on, pointing toward the sky. "Notice the bright halo around the moon. According to legend, that tells of a coming storm. Count the stars inside the ring—one, two. That means the storm is two days away."

"Really?" Luke and Melissa chorused.

"Are you sure?" Melissa asked, just as Luke was saying, "And that works?"

The captain chuckled. "It's just an old salt's tale. But a hundred years ago, it was considered science." He made a big drama of lighting a corncob pipe. "Today we get constant weather updates by fax."

"So there's no storm," said Melissa.

"Right?" asked Luke.

"We're fine," the captain assured them. "Rougher seas tomorrow, though. No swimming."

"Fine with me," Melissa said.

"Yeah," Luke said. "That's okay."

The kids said good night and together slipped down the companionway to the boys' cabin.

Why the boys' cabin?

Well, Melissa had always felt secure with people of the opposite gender. They were so much nicer, and less cruel. Girls were always so judging, and kept grudges for years. Besides, the girls on this ship were, Melissa thought, show-offs. Charla kept showing off how good she was at sports—running, diving, swimming, balancing on the deck rails. Lyssa was always hanging around the captain, becoming a total captain's pet. The boys weren't like that. Sure, JJ was a total flake, and Ian was a bit shy. Will was a bit squeamish around his sister, and Luke had a criminal record…but so what?

They were in the boys' cabin now. "Bad news, Evel Knievel," Luke said to JJ. "No swimming tomorrow. You'll have to find another way to kill yourself."

Melissa smiled at the remark.

"Bug off," the actor's son yawned. He gave a quick smile at Melissa, then rolled other in his bunk and banged on the bulkhead. "Hey, ladies, which one of you wants to come over and give me a nice foot massage?" There was a scrambling sound on deck above them, followed by the shuffling of shoes on the companionway.

As Melissa watched in horror, the furious face of Mr. Radford soon appeared. "Hey, Richie Rich. The girls' cabin is on the starboard side. Behind this bulkhead is where I sleep. And if I get any more invitation like that, you're going over the side with an anchor in your pants."

Melissa whistled slowly as the mate walked away. "Burn."

"Way to go," Luke agreed. "Rat-Face isn't the friendliest guy in the world as it is. Thanks for putting him in an even worse mood. We really need the grief."

"It's not smart," added will in a softer tone. "When he's mad at you, he's mad at all of us."

"Thanks for the life lessons," JJ said sarcastically. "Don't you know who I am? My father is Jonathan Lane!"

Melissa added another low whistle and another "Burn."

"And I'm Bugs Bunny's kid," snorted Luke. "Notice the family resemblance?"

Melissa filled in with another "Burn."

"I am!" JJ insisted. He pulled expensive-looking designer sunglasses out of his shirt pocket. "Paul Smith, the fashion designer, gave these to my dad in England last year. They're custom-made. There's not another pair exactly like them in the world!"

Melissa gave another whistle and a "Burn," and JJ glanced over at her, looking like he enjoyed it and it annoyed him at the same time.

Luke examined the sleek silver shades. On one earpiece was engraved: JONATHAN LANE. THE TOAST OF LONDON—P.S.

Will was impressed. "Your dad's an amazing actor."

Melissa scoffed, and JJ scowled at her.

Melissa could almost see a light bulb blinking on over Luke's head.

"This is just great!" he exclaimed. "You're allowed to be a maniac because you know your big-shot daddy has the power to get you out of anything!"

Furious, JJ leaped out of his bunk and leaned into Luke's face. "Well, I'm stuck here with you! So obviously there are a few things he can't get me out of, right?"

They stood seething, toe-to-toe, eye-to-eye.

"JJ," Melissa begged, and Will said, "Hey, come on—" But a brawl seemed unavoidable.

And then a muffled sob broke through the tension. All four kids turned to follow the sound.

Ian Sikorsky rocked back and forth on his bunk, His knees pulled into his chest, he was crying as if he had just met the end of the world.

"Hey," said Melissa, relating to the small boy, remembering how it always felt to be torn apart mentally. "Please, don't cry. No." Melissa herself was sobbing now; full of sadness for the small boy who reminded her so much of herself.

"Hey," said Luke in a voice that was none too steady. "Don't do that. Nothing's worth it."

"Yeah," echoed JJ, speaking as much to Luke as to Ian and Melissa.

Ian nodded and sniffled, struggling to get himself under control, and Melissa did likewise.

It was Will who couldn't, in the end, mind his own business. "Ian, what did a nice kid like you do to get yourself a seat on this Windjammer cruise?"

Melissa shot him a deathly glare.

"I—I watched TV," quavered the younger boy, and the tears started up again. Melissa's did, too, and she ran out of the cabin to her own. This time there was no stopping them, tears and girl alike, until sleep claimed them both.


	5. Close the valve!

**Author's note: Okay, I dedicate this chapter to fellow scavenger, Jacob W. He, like me, looks beneath risers and bleachers, and keeps everything he finds. This is for you (LOL). Hahahahaha. **

**Anyways, sorry I haven't updated in, like, forever. My computer had a virus and all my fanfic chapters were saved on it. We have it fixed, now, though, and everything is okay. My fanfics were unharmed. **

Chapter five: Close the valve

_Slam! _

Melissa awoke with a start. She sat up to look at what awoke her and was thrown to the ground from the rolling of the ship. As she got up, she saw three orange life jackets on the floor of the girls' cabin.

"Personal floatation devices!" barked Mr. Radford. "Get dressed and get in them!"

From the other side of the wall, Melissa could hear Will saying, "Is the boat sinking?" Even on the other side of the wall, Melissa could hear the fear in his voice.

"They're called waves!" the mate snarled. "Maybe you're heard of them. Now hurry up!"

Melissa got up, and Charla and Lyssa followed, throwing on their clothes. They went above deck, and immediately, Lyssa was on her hands and knees at the gunwale, throwing up over the side.

The boys came up at that moment, and Melissa saw a smile lighting up Will's gray face. "Mom and Dad always tell us: Find what you do best and do your best with it. You're turning into a real whiz at barfing, Lyss."

Melissa smiled at the joke.

Lyssa was too weak to think up of a good comeback.

"Good morning!" bellowed the captain from the cockpit. "I think today might test your sea legs a little. We're seeing eight-foot waves with swells in the ten-foot range. And the wind's going to pick up later in the day. So let's be extra careful on deck. Now I want all of you to go and eat a hearty breakfast. You'll need your strength. That's all."

Melissa woke up with a start. "Huh?" She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep in the middle of the captain's speech. "What?"

As the six remaining crew members laughed, Captain Cascadden attempted to start over, to Melissa's dismay. "I think today…"

By the time Melissa was down in the galley, everyone was almost done eating.

Melissa gagged down her _extremely _greasy scrambled eggs and nearly threw up. What, she thought. _Now _he makes the fancy food? They'd had nothing but dried toast until today.

Melissa thought she liked the dried toast better.

It was a long and hard day for the inexperienced kids. The wind whipped around the rigging. The deck pitched left and right. The young crew struggled through the fine chilling spray off the whitecaps, their shoes slipping on the slick and slippery deck. By 11:00am, (or, as in ship lingo, 1100 hours, Melissa remembered) Will was beside his sister at the rail, offering his scrambled eggs to the Pacific Ocean.

Melissa smiled. Taste of his own medicine.

"It's days like this," Mr. Radford howled, "that made me become a sailor!"

The _Phoenix _tacked, sailing close-hauled at an angle, first to port, then to starboard.

"It's called beating the windward," the captain explained. "We can get where we're going in a zigzag without ever having to sail in the wind."

Melissa didn't understand, but just nodded. Maybe it was like when someone was shooting you and you went in a zigzag to avoid the bullets. Maybe ships and wind were like that.

The constant changes in direction meant a lot of work on the sails. Melissa's hands were red, sore, blistered, and torn up. She had rope burn. It was so bad even her cuts had cuts, if that were possible. Now she knew it was.

Mr. Radford called all the kids down to lunch. It was another rough-weather special: liver and onions with canned succotash.

Melissa was beginning to think that the mate actually _liked _seeing their faces turn green. But it was no surprise. The mate was a sadist.

Will and Lyssa didn't eat. They were still at the rail, sick. JJ and Ian barely touched their food, but Melissa dug in. She hadn't had real food for years. Her parents never gave her food. She was supposed to find it herself. She'd been out, alone, looking for food, ever since she was old enough to read. That was when she was five. She had been eating plain toast for a long time. It was the only thing ever in her home's kitchen. Her parents spent money in extravagant things, such as the Tiffany lamp Melissa had broken. They never had wanted Melissa. They always had said the same thing: "We wanted a boy. But what did we get? A stupid female! You're complaining about being hungry? Well, think of us! Do you think we like taking care of a girl?" Then, after long, unfair lectures, she was always sent out of the house. Outside, she had taken refuge with the neighbor's cat Socks in an abandoned shed.

Melissa sighed sadly, remembering. Looking around, she saw that Ian and JJ had escaped off to somewhere, probably the boys' cabin. She finished up her own food, watching Luke force his down.

Melissa didn't see why he didn't just quit. She guessed it had something to do with him not wanting to surrender to, of all people, Rat-Face, and only over food.

The wind got stronger. Captain Cascadden ordered the sails trimmed and took down the two jibs on the bowsprit. By the time they were done, the swells were reaching up to twelve feet.

"It's like a roller coaster!" Will moaned, clutching on to the mainsheet as if he were hanging on for his life.

"Jeez!" Melissa shouted at Will, the sound of everyone moving and the crashing waves almost drowning out her voice. "Roller coasters are supposed to be fun! This is no roller coaster."

"I love the sea!" Mr. Radford roared, shaking off sea water like a wet dog.

"I'm a landlubber," JJ groaned. "And the more time I spend on this boat, the more I lub the land."

Melissa giggled for what seemed like the first time in her life. Who knew her first giggle would come from Richie Rich here?

Melissa looked around at her crewmates. As she saw Radford, her jaw dropped.

He was happy. Extremely happy.

Melissa thought he was extremely nasty. Did it take everybody's combined misery to make him happy? Apparently, yes. And now, Melissa wasn't happy, either.

"Hey, Archie," Radford called to Luke cheerily, yet cruel, somehow at the same time. "You don't look so hot. You'll feel a lot better if you let that seasickness out."

Ew, Melissa thought, imagining Luke throwing up in the tiny head. The stench would be there for weeks.

Melissa watched Luke go below to the head, then turned towards the captain, who was making another long speech.

"Crew, I'm proud of all your hard work. Working together has improved your behavior."

Melissa made a sharp "ch" sound.

Radford looked at her sharply and said, "Don't press your luck, Veronica."

At that moment, Luke came back up on deck. At that point, the captain was saying, "There's no break from these rough seas yet. We're going to have to strike the sails and heave under pressure."

"I heaved already," said JJ feelingly.

The smile came back to Melissa's face.

"Shut up, Richie Rich!" snapped Radford, still clearly a bit ticked at Melissa. "'Heave to' means turning into the wind. If you listen, you might hear what you don't hear because you're not listening!"

"Nice," Melissa cracked.

"Captain," said Will in a timid voice," how scared should we be? I mean—are we in trouble here?"

The captain threw back his head and laughed heartily. "Steady on, my boy, this is an ordinary day at the office for the _Phoenix_. She's been in seas twice this size and come through with flying colors. She's a fine ship, seaworthy in every way."

So down came the sails.

Melissa thought she would die.

Melissa was not hungry, and she could tell the rest of her young crewmates didn't want to eat either. But the captain ordered toast and ginger ale for all hands. The swells were reaching fifteen feet. Standing near the bow, it looked as if the sea were opening up to swallow the _Phoenix_. The troughs between waves were so low that, for a second, there was a dead calm down there—no wind, no spray. It was the eeriest part. Melissa actually found herself hoping, while down there, to be at the chaos above the towering crests.

Ian was the first to decide to ride out the rough seas strapped into his bunk. Melissa decided this sounded good and they both disappeared down the companionway.

As they reached the floor, they looked down and immediately, at the same time, started screaming uncontrollably.

The floor was flooded with seawater.

"We're sinking! We're sinking!" Melissa and Ian cried.

Melissa saw Radford over the companionway. "Take it easy, Archie. We're not sinking." He looked down and saw both children standing up to their ankles in water. "Holy—Skipper, we've got water in the crew cabin!"

Melissa started screaming again, just for the heck of it, and ran back on deck. There, she saw Captain Cascadden grabbing randomly for someone near him. "Crewman," he said to the unfortunate young crew member, "take the wheel!"

Will stared at the captain in shock and horror as Melissa watched on, entertained. "But I don't know how to drive!"

Melissa's smile grew as she stepped up to Will. "Hey," she said to the captain, "Why don't you go figure out what's up? I'll handle Will here."

The captain nodded his approval and left quickly. Melissa turned to Will. "See, Will," she said, gripping the wheel, "we're in the open Pacific. It's not like you're gonna hit anything or something like that. Just hold the wheel so we don't get off-course. It's not that hard."

Melissa heard Will mumble something like, "Well, I don't see _you _driving this stupid boat," but she ignored him.

Will grabbed the wheel in an iron grip. Lyssa jumped down the companionway to the girls' quarters. The captain was still below deck, searching for the cause of the water.

A moment later, everyone was back on deck.

"False alarm," the captain said. "Somebody forgot to close the valve."

"I'll kill him!" seethed the mate.

The captain chuckled. "You'll do no such thing. In fact, I don't even want to know who it was. Get a pump and bail out this cabin."

Melissa goggled. It had to have been Luke. And it was. He was standing on deck, looking sheepish.

They had to now pump out the water. Melissa's suspicions were confirmed when Luke volunteered for the worst job. She could see him struggling not to fall into the toilet.

Mr. Radford ranted through the whole operation. "How many times do I have to tell you to _close that valve_? Does anybody have half a brain on this ship?"

It was torture, Melissa thought, pumping until her arms felt like they were going to be pulled out of their sockets. But it was better than being back home in an old abandoned shed with Socks.

And that was all that mattered.


End file.
